Ex-Olympian Brian Boitano heads to Sochi Games as gay-rights symbol

Former Olympian figure skater Brian Boitano is one of three gay athletes heading to Sochi as part of the U.S. delegation. (AP)

Brian Boitano never saw himself as “in” or “out.” He was just Brian, the beloved figure skater from Sunnyvale, Calif., who won the gold medal in 1988 and had chosen to keep his personal life out of the public eye.

Then last month, President Barack Obama named him as part of the U.S. delegation for the upcoming Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and Boitano was thrust into the biggest political issue of these Olympics — the host country's anti-gay laws.

Being “just Brian” wouldn't cut it anymore.

Boitano, 50, will head to Sochi as a symbol of diversity after he surprised himself by deciding to announce publicly that he is gay. He is joining a pair of openly lesbian athletes — tennis legend Billie Jean King and hockey player Caitlin Cahow — on a delegation that will represent Americans and serve as a White House rebuke of Russia's intolerance.

“I don't think coming out is a really big deal these days,” he said. “But the reason I put my privacy aside was because of the message. This was just too important.”

These games could be a watershed event for gay rights as a global audience tunes into the winter sports festival.

“This is an opportunity to have an intelligent conversation and shine a bright light on what Russia is doing,” said Rick Welts, the Golden State Warriors president.

“We've learned that the most powerful tool of social change is to have people exposed to different ideas. That has a way of erasing prejudice,” said Welts, who in 2011 became the first major U.S. sports team executive to come out. “But no one knows how this is going to play out, and that's what sports is all about.”

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The uproar involves a growing anti-gay sentiment in Russia that includes legislation passed in June banning “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” to minors.

The U.S. State Department has warned visiting Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender that Russia has been vague about defining “propaganda,” but that the law applies to foreigners and could result in a fine, jail or deportation. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin said this past weekend that there are “no fears for people with this nontraditional orientation who plan to come to Sochi as guests or participants.”

The controversy is the latest example that politics is as much about the Olympic movement as the gold, silver and bronze medals that are awarded to the athletes.

Gay-rights activists are hoping that something similar to a Tommie Smith-John Carlos moment might unfold. At the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City, the former San Jose State sprinters famously raised black-gloved fists in silent protest of racism after finishing first and third in the 200-meter dash.

“Throughout history, sport has been a vehicle of change,” said Wade Davis, a former NFL player and executive director of the You Can Play Project, which promotes equality in sports. “From Jesse Owens in Berlin to the sprinters on the podium at Mexico, sport has been a platform to address social injustice issues.”

Sochi will be that place for Boitano.

“I've always been an inherently private person,” said Boitano, a three-time Olympian who lives in San Francisco. “I've never been ashamed. I've never been embarrassed. My family has always known. I've been open with my friends. But there has to be something that you reserve for special people in your life.”

Boitano was in France when he received a call from the White House, asking if he would like to represent the United States in Sochi. There was never any discussion about sexual orientation; the invitation was based on his reputation as a well-liked sports ambassador. The next day, on Dec. 17, the delegation was announced — including 20-time Wimbledon champion King and two-time Olympic medalist Cahow.

“I had no idea who was going to be on the delegation, and they certainly didn't tell me the message that the president was sending,” he said. “Then I read he was making a statement about diversity through an openly gay delegation with Billie Jean and Caitlin. I thought, 'Wow, this is an opportunity for me.' ”

Two days later, Boitano made his announcement in a statement.

“I suspect that Brian believed, 'If others see me as a leader who can take a courageous stand, why can't I see myself the same way?' ” Davis added.

The delegation serves an honorary role, but one that packs a symbolic punch — as Obama has made clear.

“The fact that we have got folks like Billie Jean King or Brian Boitano, who themselves have been world-class athletes that everybody acknowledges for their excellence, but also for their character, who also happen to be members of the LGBT community, you should take that for what it's worth,” Obama said recently.

Russia has spent more than $50 billion on the games, and Putin is eager to have a smooth-running Olympics that showcases his country. The international outcry may have caught him by surprise, said Derek Van Rheenen, director of the Cultural Studies of Sport in Education program at UC Berkeley.

“A lot of us would like to see individual acts of resistance by LGBT-identified athletes or people who are allies, maybe bold statements or even minor acts of defiance, like rainbow fingernail polish,” Van Rheenen said. “There will be opportunities for that, and that certainly will challenge the host nation. It will be interesting to see how Russia deals with them.”

Boitano's role at the games won't be “to shove anything into people's faces.” But he hopes that LGBT questions will be directed toward him so U.S. athletes can focus on competing.

“Everybody realizes now what our delegation is all about,” he said. “Putin certainly understands. Just by being there, standing there, attending events — that will speak volumes.”

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